Ten Doubts You Should Clarify About Do Pickup Trucks Cost More To Insure? | Do Pickup Trucks Cost More To Insure?

DEAR CAR TALK: Aback Ford alien its new F-150 with aluminum anatomy parts, I heard some complaints that some anatomy shops ability not be able to adjustment them, and those that did ability allegation added than if the barter were a accustomed animate anatomy version. What's the affirmation so far? Anybody accept any amount or added problems accepting their aluminum-body F-150's dents and anatomy blow repaired?

— George

DEAR GEORGE: Ford's "Reynolds Wrap Edition" aluminum-heavy F-150 accustomed in 2015 with a lot of promise. The use of aluminum anatomy panels instead of animate fabricated the new barter abundant lighter, which bigger mileage, and promised "No rust. Ever." But a big affair was the amount of repairs, decidedly the amount of replacing anatomy panels.

If you accept a little dent, appealing abundant any anatomy boutique can blast it out, ample it with Bondo and repaint it for you. But aback you accept to alter abounding panels, adjustment aluminum is a lot altered from adjustment steel. To bond aluminum, anatomy shops charge to buy expensive, new equipment, and get appropriate training to use it. And based on Father Guido Sarducci's "law of supply-a and-a demand-a," you'd amount that beneath aggressive anatomy shops would advance to college prices, right?

So actuality we are, a few years later, and how abundant accept F-150 anatomy adjustment costs gone up? Zero. We arrested with IIHS (the Allowance Institute for Highway Safety), which, as you ability guess, anxiously advance allowance payouts. The organization's latest address on the F-150, from April 2017, begin that the amount of anatomy repairs, compared to the 2014 F-150, has backward the same.

How could this be, you ask? Well, a lot of it has to do with Ford. They were appropriately anxious that belief about college adjustment costs could advance bodies to abstain F-150s and buy Chevys instead. So they took a agglomeration of proactive accomplish to accomplish abiding adjustment costs didn't go up.

They offered discounted adjustment accessories to their dealerships, forth with training. They bargain the amount of the aluminum anatomy parts, authoritative abounding of them cheaper than commensurable animate parts. And, they fabricated the barter added modular. So if you back-bite the front-right bend of your new F-150 into a accurate pole in a parking garage, you ability be able to alter aloof the afflicted section, rather than the accomplished advanced fender (which is how you'd fix the older, animate F-150).

Since some of this amount ascendancy is abased on Ford befitting the prices of their aluminum genitalia low, accumulate in apperception that this adventure could change over time. Although Ford does accept a huge and continuing absorption in alienated account like "F-150 costs added to adjustment than competitors." The F-150 is Ford's acknowledged vehicle, and any allusive bead in sales would be a adversity for them.

So as continued as there's abundant antagonism to advertise auto trucks, and as continued as the world's accumulation of aluminum charcoal plentiful, there should be no above issues acclimation F-150s. Aback you see a can of beer go up to $23, that'll be your clue to alpha worrying, George.

DEAR CAR TALK: My wife and I are at allowance over what agent to get our 16-year-old daughter. I am currently active a 10-year-old Mercedes-Benz E350 with 81,000 afar and am absorbed in affective up to possibly Tesla's archetypal S. I adulation the E350 and accept maintained it faithfully, and anticipate it would be a good, safe car for a boyhood girl. Yes, I apperceive I blemish her terribly, but from a applied point of view, what's amiss with this idea?

My wife has fabricated it VERY bright that beneath no affairs will our babe be accepting a Mercedes. I anticipate she is apropos aback to her own canicule in aerial academy area she got a beater VW. Should I aloof advertise it and buy our babe article else, or let her drive my old ride?

— Michael

DEAR MICHAEL: Well, if she goes to Beverly Hills Aerial School, again you can accord her the Mercedes. In fact, you ability accept to barter it in and get her an S-Class.

You're appropriate that it's absolutely a safe vehicle, and that's the top antecedence for boyhood drivers. And the actuality that you apperceive the car, and accept kept it well-maintained increases the affairs she won't get abandoned in it. But I abhorrence that anybody at her aerial academy will abhorrence her. Especially the teachers, who are all active 16-year-old Hyundais. And your wife does accept a acceptable point about abrogation her article to aspire to in life. If she starts out active a Mercedes, what allurement does she accept to lie, cheat, abduct and inside-trade after in activity to get one?

In my opinion, the best cars for teenagers are actual safe, and actual ugly. You appetite article that will assure her aback she has her aboriginal blow (when, not if). But you additionally appetite to accord her some acumen to administer herself, and assignment for a bigger future. So it's a boxy alarm here, Michael. The car itself, the Mercedes, will absolutely assure her. But do you appetite to accountability her with actuality "the kid the who drives a Mercedes"?

Here's my solution: Accord her the Mercedes, but first, booty a sledgehammer and put at atomic one big cavity on anniversary side. Again drive it into the garage, authoritative abiding you scrape the commuter ancillary adjoin the barn aperture aperture for at atomic 6 feet. Again put two "Ask Me About My Grandchildren" bonanza stickers on the back. Again accord her the keys.

Ray Magliozzi dispenses admonition about cars in Car Talk every Saturday. Email him by visiting:

cartalk.com

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